A special thank you to Lynn S. Deang, DPT, for sharing her review of the Pelvic PT Boot Camp Course on August 22/23, 2015, in Orlando, FL. Though I've taught courses for years before, this was a total new and unique approach to teaching - much more of a clinical mentoring course rather than didactic. We had such a great time and we ALL learned valuable information. The goal is for pelvic PTs all over the world to improve and gain new clinical hands on skills and apply critical thinking strategies. We will continue to add more courses and top instructors (all with varied backgrounds) ~ Tracy

I volunteered to write this blog post for three reasons:1. To provide honest feedback about the first Pelvic PT Boot Camp Clinical Skills Course 2. I am Pelvic Guru Fan3. Because I wanted a free toy chicken! ...(more on that later)

If you are a physical therapist treating pelvic floor muscle dysfunctions, most likely the majority of your training in this subspecialty has come from postgraduate continuing education classes. Likely your academic curriculum in PT school had little to no information on pelvic floor treatment. Because let's face it, we are a small percentage (but growing percentage) of therapists that choose this path. However, once you're immersed in it, you begin to see the great need of service for this population and if you're like me, you crave for MORE information!

As a "beta test" course, taught Tracy Sher, it was advertised to be "geared towards improving your hands-on clinical skills and critical thinking".

The Pelvic Guru and "clinical pearls" 1. You get the clinical knowledge and expertise of Tracy Sher up front and center for a whole two days! Tracy, in my opinion, successfully juggles many hats. She is an international speaker, educator, business owner, and compassionate clinician who provides valuable information and service to her patients and colleagues. Tracy delivers evidenced based research and shares her clinical experiences while revealing those "clinical pearls" you don't want to miss. She may even throw in a little humor or show off her juggling skills during a break. :) She covers a variety of topics such as: treatment plan guidelines for pelvic pain, painful intercourse, urinary incontinence, vestibulodynia/vulvodynia, and constipation.... just to name a few. Rarely do you get to cover an array of subject matter in one class. In addition, Tracy did a great job gauging the needs of the class and spent more time in areas the group preferred to cover.

Small group2. The class size was purposefully confined to a small-group setting. It allowed for participants to take part in active discussion throughout the course and accommodated for a comfortable environment to expand on concepts that may not otherwise take place in a larger group. For example, the class that I attended had less than 15 students.​ (article continues after the picture gallery)

Variability of clinical experience 3. Clinicians traveled from all over the U.S. to attend this course. The level of experience was varied with attendees being beginning clinicians to those who have treated pelvic floor patients for several years. As a clinician with previous experience, I found this to be a beneficial class. With continuing education courses, most require certain pre-requisites prior to moving on to another course. That is not the case here. Whether you have taken one pelvic floor course or several, you are encouraged to attend. Sacrificing time off of work and a budget with continuing education, I found this class well worth the money! Tracy's vision for this course was “to ensure that one would be comfortable with clinical skills and critical thinking/knowledge for all general pelvic cases and assess where one may still have some "weakness" or questions." I was not disappointed in the least.

Pelvic Floor Models available!!! 4.I have never been to a course where there were both female and male models were available. One was a current patient and others were volunteers willing to be treated. It was evident that these clients had gained Tracy's trust. They were readily open to discuss their subjective history. Tracy was then able to guide the class in both an objective assessment and treatment. This allowed for more dialogue within the group and foster learning.

Additional Expertise5. Not only did we get to pick the brain of Tracy Sher those two days, but we had additional expertise given by seasoned clinicians, Mary Ellen Kemp and Shayne Terrance. They provided additional valuable input.

Manual Therapy Skills6. You will be provided more time than most classes to practice and improve your hands on clinical skills. You will learn techniques that may not have been provided to you in your basic courses.

Open Table-Q and A7. By the end, Tracy designated time for unlimited Q and A. As a class, we got to fire away with those burning questions to cap off the weekend.

And Oh!... Back to the free toy chicken...Tracy shared creative ways to provide educational demonstrations to patients. She used a rubber toy chicken to explain the pressure system with the diaphragm and pelvic floor muscle control as a visual. This may be one of the many props she may have in her toolbox. And for writing this blog post, I now have one of my own to add to mine and show my patients. Thanks, Tracy!!!

In conclusion, if you're a new clinician to this field and are looking for a comprehensive course to get on the express lane towards becoming more effective with your treatment or if you've been doing this for some time now and just want those “clinical pearls” that just ties it all together...THIS IS FOR YOU!!!

We have more Pelvic PT Boot Camp courses coming up in 2016! Florida and California! Stay tuned for registration information!

Some Pelvic PT Boot Camp Course Testimonials

"By far, this is the best course I have ever taken since I started as a PT."

"This course offered me the most relaxed environment I've had the opportunity to experience while learning pelvic floor PT. The global and personalized approach is exactly what I needed to advance my skills and ensure my confidence in order to go forward"

"I didn't know quite what to expect with this inaugural Boot Camp course. After completion, I am so glad to have committed. The clinical pearls Tracy Sher shared with this class are invaluable."

"Pelvic Floor Boot Camp did exactly what it was supposed to do. Sharpened clinical skills, reinforced that some things I was doing are right, but really opened my eyes to other options for assessment and treatment. I did really feel like all of my questions were answered by the end of the weekend."

"Tracy - your passion for pelvic health is amazing. Your experience and willingness to share your knowledge is such a gift. Thank you."

"Tracy puts you at ease because she is fun and meets the students at their level just like she meets her patients at their level. She makes you realize people need time to heal, it takes time to figure out all the dysfunctions, but she keeps working to reach their goals..."

"makes the material so much more exciting and less scary. All [instructors] are very approachable, which was refreshing compared to other courses."

"I was able to learn more anatomy internally without the pressure in a structured course - although this had its "own" structure...I never felt rushed."

"Loved the clinical pearls. Ability to talk, learn from every question, positioning patients in "untraditional" positions and great mentors to ask questions.

"The instructors were amazing, terrific and awesome."

Additional Instructor Comments:

Tracy - "excellent instructor. I never felt rushed and more than willing to share all important and pertinent studies and research that are out and available. Shared cases and treatment choices on difficult cases.""Very knowledgable. Very conscientious about teaching as much as possible. Loved the treatment ideas! Very much at ease with treating fascial pain patients (finally)." "Very approachable. Showed techniques well. Explained them so I could understand." "Very easy to learn from, knowledgeable, open and global in approach."

Mary Ellen -" Very approachable. I felt so comfortable to approach her and ask questions. Willing to explain and teach."Wow! Wish I knew visceral like her! What great techniques that I want and need to learn." "Appreciate the input on visceral"

Shayne -" Never hesitated to anser and guide questions during lab and off time." "So helpful!!! I needed rectal knowledge and general "how to" that put us at ease, therefore we demonstrate confidence for our patients." "Very helpful; instructed how to treat while checking my technique."